Teen Uses Remote-Controlled Car To Smuggle Meth: Border Patrol

SAN DIEGO — An American teenager was arrested over the weekend after using a remote-controlled car to smuggle methamphetamine over the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Border Patrol officials announced Tuesday.

Agents spotted the 16-year-old boy around 12:30 a.m. Sunday walking with two duffel bags along the secondary border wall. An agent approached the boy as he hid in thick brush near the border in San Diego County, Border Patrol spokesman Theron Francisco said.

The agent discovered 50 packages of meth valued at more than $100,000, Francisco said. The teen, whose name was not released, was arrested and taken to a nearby station to face drug smuggling charges.

"I am extremely proud of the agents' heightened vigilance and hard work in stopping this unusual smuggling scheme," Chief Patrol Agent Douglas Harrison said in a statement.

Also see: Drone Smuggler Sentenced For Flying Meth Into San Diego County

Agents foiled a similar drug smuggling scheme in 2017 that involved a remote-controlled drone. Jorge Rivera, 25, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for smuggling 13 pounds of meth over the border.